It is well known among fishermen and others using water and lake and river bottoms to use floating markers to mark locations, for example, to which they wish to return to fish. These markers normally consist of a dumbbell construction with a line wrapped between the two floatable ends of the dumbbell with a weight on the end of the line. When the marker is placed or thrown to the desired location, the weight will cause the line to unreel from the marker. When the weight hits the bottom the floating portion of the marker may be moved by currents, waves, wind or the like and therefore the floating marker will not mark the desired location. The user does not want to lift the marker and try to retrace the line as this will cause movement of the bottom weight and therefore the marker has served no purpose.
In his search of the prior art, the applicant has found the following, various patents: Wolfe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,379; Bayles, U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,877; Davis, U.S.Pat. No. 3,827,093; Ewing, U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,983; Parker, U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,380; Faulstich et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,310 and Kealoha, U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,864.
All of these patents disclose various forms of marker bouys which may be thrown or placed upon the water for marking locations and which include a weighted line which will unreel from the floating portion of the marker. None of these references illustrate nor describe a marker bouy which will shift from a surface position to an erect or upright position and more importantly, none of these references illustrate a marker bouy which has means to prevent further unreeling of line from the marker, that is to say that the floating portion will remain directly above the point of bottom which is being marked.